Wild Goose Chase
by CaitlynKamikaze
Summary: What happens when the Joker depends on someone other than himself to get the job done? Will Aria ever escape Joker's sights? Will Gotham ever be released from the goose chase? Yeah, summary sucks. No Batman characters belong to me. TDK setting.
1. Warehouse

**Note, I do NOT own the Batman characters. WB does. (: **

**My first story, so please be honest if you review. **

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**Aria POV. **

**June 2, 2004**

**3:32 AM**

_This cannot be happening. _

I couldn't believe what was going on just outside my small bedroom window. A mob of men, ranging from stocky to tall, all in clown masks surrounded my house, one picking the front door lock. My room wasn't safe, and I knew it. Picking up the duffel bag I had prepared for my father's house, I stuffed my raggedy old teddy bear into as well as a lighter I had kept for my friend. I felt my legs carry me out the open door, into the hall, and into the dining room. The back door was by one of the chairs there, but as I reached the end of the hallway, I saw the rest of the men in masks beating through the glass door. My breath caught in my throat. How was I supposed to get out of here?

Turning back towards the hall behind me, I heard glass breaking back in the back rooms. _They're in the house! They're in the house! _I started to freak out, scared out of my wits. Ignoring those outside my back door, I streaked for the basement door, yanking it open as my mother's scream echoed through the halls. The basement was vacant as I locked the door behind me, hoping to stall for several minutes. Hiding in the unfinished bathroom, I rubbed my temples. Who would send these weird lunatics to my house and try to kill me and my mother?

When I couldn't find an answer, I looked into the darkness of the walls around me, going through the basement exits. There was the window just outside of the bathroom and the freezer door. Going through the scenarios, I found that the heavy, dark freezer door would be too loud if I dropped it, and the window was the quietest way. It would have to do.

Creeping out of the bathroom, I grabbed my bag, and threw it through the window first, hearing a small thud as it fell in the bush covering the window. Putting my hands on opposite sides of the windowsill, I hoisted myself onto it, getting myself into position for the final vault to the ground. As my feet hit the dewy ground, I could've sworn I heard someone yell, "I heard something over there!"

I sure as hell hoped that no one believed him.

**August 25, 2008**

**2:46 PM**

_Fuck this. Fuck them. I can't stand this shit anymore. _

Aria clenched her white teeth, feeling the hard edges grind. This wasn't right, nothing was right anymore. Since her mother's tragic murder, this spiral of life-and-death situations was throwing her around non-stop. Gotham was in a slump, thanks to Batman and the Joker. Batman himself wasn't right anymore. To Aria, he was a depressed man who needed psychological help from a shrink.

The grip of her pistol wore against her fingers' skin, feeling hard and leathery. She stared out the dusty window in the old, crumbling warehouse, seeing the men circle the building, their clown masks showing several different expressions. Aria had been in here an hour, and it looked as if it would continue. The Joker hadn't released his men off of her tail for months, maybe for years. They were getting too good for her to keep running. She guessed that meant the Joker was closer.

A sheet of tin roofing fell to her right, revealing her position inside the warehouse to the goons outside. They weren't aware she was inside until now. _Shit... _Aria thought, leaping from her perch on four large crates. She landed, somersaulting into a crouching position. Aria's gun was pointed before her, her aim steady, her hazel eyes scanning the vicinity. They weren't inside yet. Standing to her feet, her long black hair fell in a waterfall over her back to her waist. Long, straight and shining, the texture and appearance didn't look like it was only washed once a week, or whenever Aria got the chance. Soon these morons would be inside, and she would be fighting for her freedom, maybe even her life. She would possibly be forced into a shoot-out. As a door slammed open behind her, Aria sighed softly. Make that she _would _be in a shoot-out.

One of the two men that walked in chuckled, noticing Aria facing the opposite way. "What's your problem, little girl? Afraid of clowns?" He and his friend laughed raucously, seeing something hilarious in that non-funny comment.

Aria kept her stance, her index finger running along the handle of her gun. She could shoot both morons in three, maybe five seconds flat. That was all she needed.

"Come on, turn around!" the other henchman yelled impatiently, a laugh imprinted on his voice. Aria obeyed slowly, the gun hidden in the shadow of her jacket. As she faced them, her hand whipped out, shooting both henchmen with one shot, seeing as one was directly behind the other. She laughed, imitating their tone. "Look who's the one scared now," she whispered, stepping over their bodies.

Walking into the bright sunshine was like walking into a room filled with white light. Shielding her eyes, Aria felt a pair of strong, thick arms wrap around her waist, pulling her to his chest. A dark growl of a man's voice whispered in her ear, "Gotcha... now, the Joker wants an audience with you." _Shit._ Aria throught for a moment, then thrust her heel backwards, catching him in the crotch. He let go of her immediately, groaning in pain. Moving forward a few inches, Aria spun on her heel, drawing her pistol from her side. Pulling back the hammer, Aria smirked. "He can wait just a little longer," she said coldly. Pulling the trigger, Aria put two bullets into the man's forehead.

Aria spotted a tractor-trailer by the road not too far off from the warehouse. If there was anyone inside, she would be able to steal it within the next two minutes. Checking her watch, she noted the time. 2:48 PM. She had two minutes starting... now. Moving stealthily to the treeline that bordered the clearing the warehouse was in and the road, she saw only two more goons, one in the cab, and one guarding the back of the trailer. She'd take out the one in back first, then the driver last. Too easy.

Taking aim at the back henchman, she pulled the trigger, watching him drop instantly as the bullet pierced his brain. The driver looked pissed, peering in the mirror. _Come on, come on. Get out of the truck!_ Aria thought. Finally, he climbed out of the cab. A splash of crimson splattered the black of the trailer, the corpse slumping down onto the ground. Taking the wheel, she kicked him off the steps, hearing a thud as he hit the ground beneath the tires. Climbing into the seat, Aria glanced at her watch as she slammed the door shut. It was 2:50 PM.


	2. In Captivity

**Joker pov. **

**August 25, 2008. **

**5:29 PM. **

The burning flames incinerated the old home, the old home of my target. I felt my permanent smile twist dastardly into an evil smirk, feeling the fur of the raggedy teddy bear I was holding rub gently against my scarred thumb. My career as Gotham's Clown Prince was dwindling to an end, and everyone around me knew it. My life, only 28 years in, wouldn't be long. I couldn't run from the Batman forever.

Everything I knew, everything I was rested on the shoulders of Aria Pentecost. She would soon be in my clutches, under my control. There was no other option.

She would not be on the run forever.

My laugh echoed through the crackling of the flames to fall on the deaf ears of the leaves and trees surrounding me. Masks of my followers who called themselves my henchman melted to the burning heat of the house fire, their bodies long incinerated. Their families would worry in the morning, as they did every morning when they came to work for me. Only when these "innocent" men didn't return home from their day jobs that sometimes led them into the wild hours of the night would they call the so-called companies, only to find their husbands and sons had been fired or had never worked there in the first place.

How naïve their families were.

How stupid people were these days. Little Aria wasn't, though…. She had been on the run for four years from my dastardly cunning wits and knowledge. Tossing the teddy bear into the fire, I melted into the shadows, willing to wait for a few more days before I'd put out more "innocent" ads.

Ha... ha… ha…

**August 26, 2008**

**7:43 PM**

**Highway 23**

Aria didn't like the way the roads into Gotham were, or at least the back roads. This highway wasn't getting anywhere, and she was sure someone was following her. Glancing in one of her mirrors, she didn't see any headlights. Strange.

Peering into the foggy distance where her headlights barely pierced the clouds, Aria could see a dirt road leading off. _Maybe it's a dead end… I could pull off and get some sleep._ Pulling the truck into a hard left turn, she flew into the air, the bump between the two roads hitting her hard on the butt. The road was rough, alright. It probably wouldn't smooth out, but at least she could enjoy a good sleep at the end of this stupid dead end road. Aria sure was tired.

At the end of the road, she encountered what she thought was a miracle. An old, apparently abandoned warehouse, the windows either cracked or broken, invited her towards it, the shelter seeming so good at the moment.

Her trained "eagle" eyes strained to pick up any signs of life or movement, finding none. Good. She was alone.

Spinning the heavy steering wheel abruptly to the left, she brought the truck into a small indentation in the trees surrounding the warehouse, halting it with a slow, deep hiss. She gathered her few things that she had tossed onto the passenger seat beside her, but took a few seconds to search the glove box beside her. In it, she found a clown mask, a wallet with no I.D. inside, and forty-three dollars and thirty-one cents. Aria gave a dry laugh, unable to suppress herself. A henchman that carried a wallet with loads of money in his glove box (Aria believed anyone with over twenty dollars had a lot of money; living like a scavenger made her that way).

Climbing out of the cab, Aria swung the mask over her shoulder, pulling her hair back and tangling it in the hood of her raggedy jacket. The wallet and money was stashed in her right pocket, her guns in her boots and at the small of her back. Aria stashed through the overgrown weeds and brush, the noise she was making seemed strident enough for the Joker to hear all the way in boisterous, yet solemn Gotham City. Her senses and guts told her to run back to the truck and drive somewhere else, anywhere else.

Her black hair shimmered dully in the moonlight, fluttering softly in the light breeze. It seemed the wind was coming from the west… towards the warehouse. Perfect.

Aria gave the warehouse the once-over, finding nothing wrong on the exterior. She just couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched…

Shrugging, she moved fluidly through the undergrowth, seeing shadows and ghosts moving with her as she stalked to the door, her hazel orbs pouring over the surrounding walls and landscape carefully before drawing her gun and aiming it at the door. Thirty long seconds ticked by before Aria finally opened the door in a swift movement. She flicked back the hammer, ready to take off someone's head. She was just in that kind of mood.

Nothing moved within the warehouse as Aria growled softly, unhappy with what she was given. No competition meant safety, but no fun at all. She would most likely be bored for a while.

Not bothering to holster her gun, Aria kicked over a crate and checked its contents. Empty.

_This should do for a shelter or a bed… sort of, _Aria thought, the corners of her lips pulling down. As she examined the rest of the floor of the warehouse, she heard something off to her left.

"Alright, you bastard. Come out now," Aria growled, her gun twisting to face her opponent. "I want to see your face and not a gun." _At least not yet…_Aria thought, a mental smirk coming to her scowling expression.

Her unseen opponent moved around a bit more, creating a ruckus in the crates where he was. Aria stepped forward, her left eyebrow rising as she mentally evaluated her situation. What could this man be doing back there, killing something? As she moved cautiously, she felt a cold blade ease against her throat.

A rich, throaty voice whispered in her ear, "Now, I wouldn't like to disappoint the boss man, but I will slit your throat if you struggle."

Aria could not think of a way to slip out fast enough for her attacker not to notice and end her story right then and there. Besides, maybe she'd live long enough to find out what the Joker wanted with her.

Aria groaned as she was pushed out the door, into a waiting truck, and driven through the rest of the outside country into the sleeping streets of Gotham. Her life's ticking time bomb waited on the inside of these city walls. Would he spare her long enough to formulate a plan and escape, or would he kill her once he got her? Only time would tell, and it served a strange surprise to Aria.

**August 26, 2008**

**11:00PM**

**Somewhere in Gotham**

Aria stirred slowly, her eyes fluttering open. She was greeted by the sight of a gun pointed directly in her face, the barrel not two centimeters from her nose. A luring voice sounded off to her left.

"Dear… dear Aria…"

Aria turned her head, expecting to see her captor, but instead saw a glass wall. It opened up over a busy street in Gotham, sirens blaring, drivers laying on their horns… the usual.

She turned back to her original position, and waited for the voice to come back.

"Yes, I am in the room with you, but you can't see me… I'm more… _behind _you…"

Two gloved hands came from the direction the voice had indicated, a raucous laugh bursting in her ear.

"You see, I've been looking for you for what? Seven months?"

"Four years," Aria corrected automatically, her voice spitting knives.

"Ah. My memory's not too good, but in your area, it's more than wealthy in knowledge…"

Aria's captor spun her chair in his direction, giving Aria her first glance of him.

He was partly in shadow, but she saw the red, smeared-on smile, black eye make-up, and most noticeable, his jagged scars, reaching from the corners of his mouth to his cheekbones. He grinned, his clownish face brightening in mock delight.

"Recognize me? Or more likely, my henchmen's undying love for the fashion trend I started?" The Joker could do nothing but smile, his most used icon.

"Yes," Aria growled. "Why do you want me?"

"I can't tell you that…. See, it's all hushedy-hush. No outsiders. I mean, it's a bit weird that I can't tell you… but that's just the way it's worked out so far."

"Will I end up like that girl, Rachel Dawes?"

The Joker thought a moment, his face contorting into an exaggerated motion of thought. "Uh… maybe. If you don't do exactly as I say." He frowned slightly, his eyes still twinkling with the light of knowing something she didn't.

"And what do you want me to do?"

The Joker paused. "I don't know, really. I hadn't planned that far ahead. You see, trying to catch you for four years took my mind off of planning further." He stopped grinning and licked his lips. "You're going to be very…" He looked down, looking her over, "very useful."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Useful for what?"

He looked her in the eyes like some kid that needed something explained over and over. "I just said that I didn't know. What, is there nothing between your ears?" He tapped her head with his knuckles, causing her to wince as his fist hit a sensitive area behind her ear.

He seemed to be satisfied that he had caused her pain. Standing from his crouched position, he crossed the room to the door. "When you can get yourself up, my… men… will take you to your quarters." Grinning, Joker left the room.

"Get myself up?" Aria mouthed, repeating his words in disbelief. She leaned back, looking over her shoulder at her bondage. It was loose, cut by a knife. She hadn't done that. Her knives were in her boots.

Aria turned her head back towards the door, her jaw dropping.

Had the Joker done that?

There was no time to contemplate what he had and had not done. Aria was aware of the strange, hollow ticking that had filled the room in her brief spell of disbelief. Her gray eyes followed a string from the corner of the room that went straight to the gun, wrapped around the handle several times and was loosely looped around the trigger. If the string was pulled when the ticking stopped, it would caused the trigger to pull and fire, killing Aria if she didn't move now.

Moving fast, Aria wriggled her hands, her fingers grabbing the ropes and pulling them down. Within thirty seconds, the ticking had sped up and the handcuffs were on the floor. Aria had bent over, her fingers flying as they worked on the knots. The gun barrel was aimed at the small of her back, the steady ticking of the timer growing faster. Sweat rolled down Aria's forehead as she untied the knots faster, her mind flashing ahead to what she could do if she got out of here.

Outside, a henchman waited. He was confident the girl wouldn't get out in time. She had only ten seconds left…

Aria worked faster, trying to work the knots her way.

Three. Two. One…

A gunshot reverberated through the room. The henchman unlocked the door and stepped inside, peering around. He smiled, seeing the body on the chair, bent over with a hole in the small of its back.


End file.
